New Delhi: The Delhi high court will hear the National Investigation Agency (NIA) petition seeking the death penalty for Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik on April 22, granting the agency a final four-week extension to file its rejoinder.
According to a report, the bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur dismissed urgency claims, noting Malik is already serving a life sentence from his 2022 terror funding conviction under UAPA and IPC.
Malik, chief of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who is lodged in Tihar Jail, protested delays as “psychological trauma”. He accused NIA of stalling, having sought time previously on November 10. NIA countered that Malik took a year for his response and needed only 2-3 weeks for vetting, emphasizing the appeal merely enhances punishment for secessionist activities and terrorism.
The trial court in May 2022 sentenced Malik to life after he pleaded guilty, deeming crimes against India’s unity severe but not “rarest of rare” for capital punishment. NIA is of the view that the sentence is inadequate, claiming terrorists exploit guilty pleas to evade death row. The case stems from 2017-2018 probes into JKLF’s funding for violence in Kashmir.
Appearing via video, Malik reiterated non-violence claims rejected earlier. The court rebuffed his urgency bid: “No rush—this is sentence enhancement; you’re on life term already.”
With this, the NIA got a last-chance approval amid procedural wrangling since 2023 appeal, another report said.
